The night it all changed
by RushAlias
Summary: Response to Capty Fanfic. Callum and Ezran left for the lodge before the assassins ever came. The king has died and the princes learn of his demise at the hands of the elves. When they meet an elf who wants to make things right, will they do so.
1. Calm before the storm

**Author's notes: Well this is a story made in response to Capty Fanfic's challenge.****The dragon prince does not belong to me but the characters of Iris and Gregar do.****please leave a review(constructive criticism is appreciated) and fav and follow the story if you like it.**

"Checkmate."

Callum looked at the board and then glanced back at his opponent. His eyes moving back and forth from the black and white board to the girl sitting directly opposite to him. He looked over the board again still not believing it.

"How did you?" Callum muttered looking back at the board. He had successfully eliminated most of the major threats to his king. He had taken her queen and her rooks and one bishop, and yet he still loss. His opponent merely giggled at his surprised face before pointing to the pawn she had moved to the back of his side.

"You ignored the little guy who waited till the end." She told him. Callum face palmed when he saw it earning more laughter from his opponent. Of course it had to be the one little piece that he hadn't accounted for.

"Relax I'm sure you'll get better eventually." His opponent told him.

"Beating Soren doesn't count, he still thinks the king can move anywhere he wants." Callum replied dryly. His opponent was about to respond before a loud cat like screech interrupted them. Callum watched as small tanned boy ran into the garden carrying a handful of pastries and large yellow toads with blue spots following behind him. The boy didn't stop running, darting pass Callum and his friend knocking the chess board into the air.

Not to long after an older man in an apron, the royal Baker came from the same direction as the boy. The man stopped looking at the scattered chess pieces and then at the two players.

"Prince Callum, Iris, have you two seen prince Ezra anywhere?" The man asked them. Iris and Callum pretended to not know where the prince was but the man was not convinced. He picked up one of the chess pieces scattered across the floor before commenting how it seem like someone had been running through here.

"Actually, his highness here just got his royal butt handed to him a few minutes ago." Iris responded, she then leaned in closer, "between you and me, he's a really saw loser." Iris whispered to him, shifting her eyes to the chess pieces and then to Callum.

The Baker was still not convinced but he relented. No point in chasing after the prince when he had more pastries to make. After the Baker left, Callum and Iris began to pick up the scattered pieces. After they had packed up everything a nearby bush in the garden rustled.

"Psst. Is he gone yet?" The bush asked.

"Yes, Ez he's gone." Callum told the bush. The little tanned boy popped his head out of the bush, glancing around just to make sure before he came out, holding a few of the pastries he swiped earlier, behind him the same yellow toad from earlier followed.

"Thanks guys I thought he was going to catch me for sure this time." Ezra spoke as he ate another pastry and then offered one to the toad. The yellow amphibian stuck out its tongue and latched the pastry before reeling it back in.

"Keep stealing his pastries and I am sure he'll figure out how to do it eventually." Iris said as she ruffled Ezra's rather frizzy hair.

"Hey I needed to stock up for the road. When we go to the winter lodge, I won't have any if these jelly tarts." Ezra muttered in bliss as he took another bite into the pastry. Looking back at the two older teens in front him giving him a rather blank look he turned back to toad.

"You understand, right Bait." Ezra told the toad, Bait.

Bait merely croaked in response before trying to take another pastry from Ezra. The boy gladly tossed another pastry to the toad.

"Relax Ez. I'm sure we'll get to try plenty of other food and sweet good at the lodge." Callum told him, "Why don't you go make sure you packed everything, we're leaving today and I'm sure you wouldn't want go and then realize you left home your pants." Callum teased.

"I already told you, raccoons did steal my undies." Ezra responded.

"Ehem." Iris coughed earning the attention of the boys. Ezra's face immediately reddened as he realized he just brought up his underwear in front a girl. Callum couldn't resist the urge to laugh at his younger half brother taking this moment as pay back from what happened earlier with Claudia.

"Alright, alright come on Ez, go and check your bags. I'll join you in a while." Callum told his brother in between breaths. Ezra decided it might have been best to leave before he said something else he'd regret. Besides he still needed to get more jelly tarts for Bait.

"It could just be me, but I hope he's still as fun and adorable like that when he becomes king." Iris said teasingly.

"Can you see it now, next decade or two a fully grown Ezra on the throne still getting afraid of being caught sneaking jelly tarts." Iris elbowed Callum.

"Yeah next decade or two." Callum responded somberly. Iris had noticed the shift in his voice and immediately turned her attention to him.

"What's wrong with you? I thought you'd be happy getting away from all the princely training, no horseback riding, no sword fighting, no Soren teasing you." Iris spoke.

"Its nothing really." Callum answered, fixing back the table where the chess board was on. Iris still wasn't buying it.

"Oh I get it, you're upset about leaving Claudia alone with Gregar. Aren't you? Well don't worry. Gregar has other things to worry about than getting your 'future' girlfriend." Iris said making air quotes at the word future. Callum for one was not looking any better. Iris finally decided to be serious with him.

"Look, I know that going to the winter lodge in summer could only mean one thing, that the king might you know." Iris told him, resting her hand on his shoulder to comfort the young prince. "But you shouldn't worry about that." Iris told him.

"How can I not worry about it?" Callum said in slightly louder tone. He didn't exactly like the idea that one of his friends was telling him not to worry about his step dad getting killed.

"Because you can't do anything to help if you worry too much." Iris responded looking at him sternly. "Your job as it stands is to not worry about about the king or any if us here. It's to look after Ezra. King Harrow is sending you to the lodge with the hope that the two of you will he safe there." She told the young prince.

"His highness wouldn't be able to think properly if he knew you two were at risk." She finished. Hoping that the words got into Callum's thick skull.

Callum merely stood there silently processing all Iris told him. She was right, Ezra was being left under his care and his aunt's, and his father wouldn't function if they were in danger. As much as he wanted to stay and help he knew he might have been more of hindrance than a help.

"You're right." He told her.

"Good now go pack, I still have to finish tending the garden and then I'll check you guys before you leave." Iris told him as she shoved him out the garden.

"Okay okay, I'm going." Callum responded.

"And relax, Soren and the other knights will take care of this. When you get back I'm sure you'll have to listen to them going on and on about how they save the King." Iris told him as he left.

Meanwhile in the courtyard two swordsmen were preparing themselves to strike. On one end was a young blond man by the name of Soren and his opponent was a slightly younger soldier Gregar. The two had been sparing for an hour now having helped Prince Callum somewhat in sword training. Now that they didn't need to focus on teaching they could finally get some practice of their own. The two charged each other once more slashing their swords against each other. Soren was the first to go swinging his sword down at Gregar. The younger soldier had blocked the strike but could feel the force behind Soren's attack push him back. Gregar backed away and baited Soren to come towards him. The older knight followed and attempted to strike, this time Gregar managed to block and counter attack. The two went like this for a while one minute the advantage was in Soren then Gregar then Soren. They were both evenly matched however they couldn't fight or dodge forever.

"Wow either I've gotten better, or you've gotten worse. I'd say its both." Gregar taunted.

"Hehe, well maybe that because I haven't gotten a good challenge since you left." Soren responded as they clashed swore.

After being pushed apart once more, Gregar and Soren readied themselves to charge once more. The two rushed with great determination and their swords clashed once more. This time they were put in a stalement, one continuously trying to push back against the other. While Soren's raw power would have naturally been enough to beat Gregar, Gregar's stance and technique was more efficient and allowed him to match Soren. Unknown to the two swordsmen as they kept pressing their blades against each other, the point where the blades where connected had began to heat up. As they continued to press further the pressure and heat being applied to one of the swords finally became too great. With one final push, Gregar shattered Soren's sword against his own pushing the older soldier back. However his victory was short lived as a shard from Soren's sword spun around and struck him in the shoulder.

"Gregar are you okay?" Soren asked his colleague. Gregar being Gregar had tried to play off, though Soren wasn't convinced. Gregar had been involved in one of his father's creative solutions to making better soldiers and while most other soldiers had not made it, Gregar had passed most of its tests. Needless to say the King was not pleased with this whole idea and the solution was shut down. Gregar was offered an extremely early retirement to compensate and but the young soldier was way too determined to be put down. He rested and took physical therapy in the garden and now Gregar was ready to rejoin the army. If anything, defeating Soren in a duel proved just how ready he was...and just how much Soren had underestimated him.

"I'm fine: just a scrape." Gregar said as he walked over to the benches. Gregar planted his sword in the ground as he took a seat. The sword's edge was still heated from the match but the blade cooled as he released his grip on it. Within minutes the boys had heard the voice of a young lady calling out to them.

"Oh great." Soren mused, noticing his sister approaching them. However when he turned his attention back to Gregar he noticed the younger warrior had disappeared.

"Hey...Soren." Claudia said her voice dipping when she only saw her brother there. She looked around the area noticing Soren's broken sword but no hint of the one who broke it.

"Did Gregar do that?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah he's actually gotten even better since we last spared." Soren responded but he noticed the down looked in his sister's eyes.

"Do you think he's still mad at me?" Claudia asked. Soren looked over his sister's expression. He honestly didn't know how to respond to that. Gregar had put a lot of faith in Claudia and Viren, and that had left him in a near death state several times over. It was a miracle he was standing even now but even after his recovery he and Claudia hadn't spoken.

"I'm sure you two will make up eventually. Although if push comes to shove I bet Callum will convince him to forgive you if you asked." Soren suggested, remembering how the younger prince had been fawning over Claudia earlier.

"Yeah sure." Claudia said. "I'm going to go catch up on some reading. I'll see you around." The young mage told her brother as she left.

"Okay.

"Your highness I beg of you to please reconsider. Go with the Princes to the lodge, hide in the village, do something." The royal high mage, Viren pleaded with the king. General Amaya had sent a message stating that moonshadow elves had been spotted crossing the border and moonshadow elves were some of Xadia's best assassins. It would have been hopeful to assume they were here for another reason, but Katolis was the closest kingdom to Xadia and was also the kingdom responsible for the death of Xadia's protector, the Dragon King.

"No Viren." King Harrow spoke solemnly. The ruler of Katolis had accepted the consequence of his actions, he had to die for the dead he had committed if it meant that his people and his family could live in peace. The elves wouldn't stop coming if they missed their target, as a matter of fact they might become more aggressive if they missed. No, he was hoping he could by time for his sons. He trusted his family and friends in Katolis to protect and raise his children in his absence. His wife's sister, Amaya was perhaps on of the greatest generals in history, despite her handicapped abilities, so the king felt at ease knowing his sons could be safe.

He had ordered for the Princes to be escorted to the winter lodge, for their own protection. He couldn't keep them in the castle and run the risk of the assassins finding them as well, he'd never be able to face his wife in the after life if he knew his sons died because of him.

"That's it. You're just going to give up, just like that." Viren yelled. The man couldn't believe his king would resort to this. "I thought you were person who claimed that we could write our own destiny. That we could make our own fate. Are you to blinded by your pride and honour to refuse any help." The mage screamed.

"Yes Viren I have." Harrow silenced the mage. "I have accepted my death because it means that my sons can have a chance of peace. I have accepted because I trust that they will be able to do what I couldn't. So if dying is the price to pay for them to live, then so be it." Harrow declared. "Now unless you have anything else to say I suggest you leave."

Viren had obeyed the king and was about to leave the throne room when he stopped at the door. "Gregar has recovered and returned to rejoin the army. I would have recommended that he should be apart of your guard seeing as full moon is only two nights away but if you're so hell bent on dying then send him to protect the princes." Viren said as he walked out. Leaving the king in the empty throne room.

The king walked over to a portrait that was taken of his family on the day of his coronation. It had him and his two sons when they were younger, as well as his late wife. On another portrait nearby was him and Viren. It was his royal portrait and though it should have had him alone, had insisted on his best friend posing alongside him.

'Don't make me regret this Viren.' Harrow thought as he walked out of the throne room.

"Wait so the king wants you to look after the Princes?" Iris asked as soaked a rag and pressed it against Gregar's wound. The young knight had run into the king shortly after leaving the courtyard. Much to Gregar's surprise the king had ordered him to go with the Princes to their winter lodge.

"Yeah it's alright I guess." Gregar responded as twirled around his sword in his free hand. He planted it in the ground, twisting the handle ever so gently. The blade hummed everytime he twisted it. Iris was watching him carefully not liking what he did.

"You better stop revving that before I give you a matching cut." She threatened. Gregar huffed and let the blade go.

"Viren did something it. Everytime I swing the blade I can feel something." Gregar stated, watching the engravings on the side of it.

"Well to be fair, it was originally going to be a sun fire blade right, it was just never threated with the sun magic when you're dad got it right?" Aliyah asked.

"Yeah. Are you saying the old coot tried to make it a sun fire blade." Gregar remarked.

"I sincerely doubt he would imbue Vaatu with the Sun Magic. Maybe he tried it with dark magic. Lord knows how much of that stuff you absorbed during his little experiments." Iris snarled.

"Don't even start with me." Gregar responded. He winced as Iris began tying a bandage around the wound. He had been out of commission for a while because of that crazed sorcer's ideas, he wasn't looking forward to a second one or even seeing the mad man in general.

After she finished wrapping the bandage, Iris moved to take a seat next to Gregar. The two of them just relaxed in the garden taking in the silence for a while.

"Did you forgive, Claudia yet?" The girl asked. Gregar raised an eyebrow as he leaned back against a tree.

"I haven't really gotten around to it. Everytime I hear her voice or see her, I feel like my whole body wants to run and hide before I get another dose of dark magic." Gregar shuddered as memories of being chained to a table while Viren was doing who knows what.

"Still can't believe, Viren got away with that." Iris hissed.

"To be fair, I did agree to it."

"Doesn't change the fact you had to go through all that. I remember seeing the remains of some of the other participants. I couldn't sleep for months."

"Same."

"You were in a coma, you were doing nothing but sleeping." Iris jeered.

"You're mean." Gregar teased, "I think I'll go and pack my things, later mean lady."

"Wow, real mature wolf boy, real mature." Iris countered as she watched Gregar leave.

**That was chapter one, i want to keep it as close to the canon as possible while adding my own twist. What were your thoughts, like and dislikes. I kid you not those things matter to creators since it helps us make wonderful stories.**


	2. Good bye, home

**A.N. Here is chapter 2, thanks for all the reviews so far, they were really appreciated. With out further ado here is chapter 2 along with everyone's favourite elf, Rayla and the first fight scene for the story.**

* * *

They hadn't even left for the Gregar already felt he would have a hard time taking care of Callum and Ezran, until their Aunt arrived at the lodge. Currently he had been talked into playing a game of tag with Ezran by Iris. There was only one problem though, Iris forgot to mention that Ezran got to ride her pet/best friend, Rumble.

Rumble was not your average pet. He was an armarhino. They weren't very tall creatures being as just a little taller than Ezran, but they were strong and bulky. Iris had met Rumble when he was an infant and when she was just a little girl and he had stayed by her side ever since. Off course over the years as Rumble grew bigger some of the guards and other military people wanted to use Rumble as animal for war. Safe to say Iris was not pleased. She had tried to fight them off but her small stature made the task incredibly difficult, though that didn't discourage her. She decided to do what any little kid would do when they found a bully... threaten to tell a grown up. Most of the soldiers all scoffed at the idea think the girl meant she would tell her mother, who was just a gardener in the castle.

You should have seen how many jaws dropped when she snuck into the throne one day and complained to the king in the middle of a meeting. There was a complete uproar because of it with some of the other council members calling guards for her, but the king and queen stopped them in their tracks. The king had called her to come by him while he sat on his thrown and asked her what it was that was troubling her. She had told him how there were many bad men in the guard trying to take her best friend and send to fight. The king listened intently to the little girl especially on how she talked about Rumble being her best friend, all the while looking at black bird with green accents sitting atop a perch in the throne room.

After that talk no one ever bothered her or Rumble or any other animal that belonged to a owner who loved them so much. As for Rumble he had been for ever grateful to the king and had even become great friends with the King's younger were close, not as close as him and Bait, but when the Prince needed help whether be to hide from the Baker or win a game tag, he was there. Unfortunately for Gregar that meant he had to avoid being tagged by the prince who was currently riding the 300 pound behemoth.

"How is this even fun?" Gregar yelled as the Prince and Rumble chased him through the garden. It was always a wonder how Ezran had been able to navigate Rumble so easily through the garden especially since they managed to avoid doing much damage to the garden.

"Ezran's having fun and I'm also having fun watching this." Iris laughed as she watched the duo chased Gregar, Bait resting on her head. She knew Rumble wouldn't actually hurt Gregar, for as big and intimidating as the beast was, he was a big softie. That is until you harmed Iris or Ezran. Then played bowling, you would be the pins and him the ball.

Gregar narrowly avoided the duo once and more and was making a break for it. Ezran and Rumble decided to kick it up notch. Ezran jumped of Rumble landing behind the Armarhino, as Rumble rolled up into ball and hurtle himself towards Gregar. The knight narrowly avoided Rumble flying over his head only to come to skidding halt when the Armarhino stopped in front him. Gregar then felt a small hand tapping him on the back.

"Tag you're it." Ezran called as ran the opposite way after he tagged Gregar.

* * *

Meanwhile from the throne room, King Harrow watched the group play in the garden. Harrow watched as his son laughed and smiled, especially when Rumble bit the back of Gregar's clothes to stop the knight from running after Ezran. He always enjoyed these days where he could just relax and be happy with his family, and it pained him dearly knowing that it might all change in tonight.

Knock knock!

Turning his head to the door he heard his older son's voice. Harrow took a deep breath. He had thought this over probably a hundred times and he still didn't know the right words, but he needed to do this. But how do you tell your son that he and his little brother might become orphans in the next few days. How do you tell your child good bye, especially when they already lost another parent.

"Come in." He said. Callum did as he was told and enter the throne room.

"Prince Callum."

"My king." The teen responded.

"No need for formalities." Harrow said, "I know I may not have been your birth father, but I have always lived like a son and considered you as such." The man spoke. "I couldn't find the right words to tell you, so I wrote this." He said as showed Callum a folded sheet of paper.

"A letter?" Callum asked.

"Yes when the time comes and you know. I want you to break the seal." He said as he rested the letter in Callum's hand. The prince's hand was shaking, almost as if his body itself wanted to reject the letter for what it meant, but he held it nevertheless.

"You mean when they kill you." Callum said. He was being blunt and he couldn't tell if it was because he was sick of people dancing around the idea in front of him or trying in a very vain attempt at distracting him. So far everyone had kept trying to dodge the fact that the king would die but it was clear from the demeanour that he they all had that even they knew it was hopeless. The only people who doubted otherwise were Gregar, Soren, Claudia and Lord Viren. The former two was sure they could take the elves in a fight while the latter was looking for some dark spell to help them through.

"I wish it were different, but this is the destiny I wrote for myself." Harrow told his son.

"But can't you just make peace with them?" Callum asked.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Harrow responded.

"Why not? You don't want to die. I'm pretty sure the elves and dragons don't want to die either. Seems pretty simple to me." Callum argued.

"There have been too many wrongs done over the centuries. Too much pain and suffering, cause by both sides. I've done my fair share of terrible things and now I must atone for my mistakes." Harrow said.

"Can't you do something about it?" Callum asked, "You're the king, you can do anything." To the prince's surprise the king laughed not out of joy but with sorrow.

"As a child you think adults have all the power that we can do what we please, but it's quite the opposite." The king said as he looked out the window. In the garden Gregar was now hiding in a tree while Rumble rolled around at the base, stopping every few seconds to butt the tree, all the while Iris and Ezran laughed at the warrior's misery.

"A young child has more freedom than a king." Harrow said as he turned back to Callum. "One day you'll understand." He added.

"No, I won't." Callum replied, trying to hold back the tears. He held up the letter in front the king. "When we come back, I'm going to give this to you and you're going to tell me what it says and then tear it up." Callum told his step-father.

Harrow didn't responded, merely nodding to the prince. Before he even realized what happened. The prince enveloped him in tight hug. Harrow hugged him back, both of them with tears trickling down their faces.

* * *

Gregar was trying his best to move but the force of the armarhino on top his back was making it very hard to move. When he felt the pressure rising, he tried his best to force Rumble of him trying his best not to yield. Iris, Ezran and Bait looked on as the soldier had his arm stretched but had yet to tap out from the pressure.

"He's going to be alright after this right?" Ezran asked. Iris merely shrugged.

"If he's powering through this long, then he better. I'd honestly thought he'd tap a couple moments ago." She admitted, before a loud growled drew their attention.

The duo watched as Gregar planted both his arms into the ground and tried to force himself up, getting a good distance of the ground, he turned his body over and began to push his legs and arms against the Armarhino. Rumble turned into ball form when he realized Gregar was actually lifting him up. With one last cry Gregar pushed Rumble off of him.

"Alright," Gregar cheered, "who's the strongest?" he teased the animal. "I am. That's right." He cheered as he did a victory before turning to see Ezran and Iris laughing at his antics. "I mean, an excellent challenge that was very gratifying to beat." Gregar said as she tried to look somewhat serious and composed.

"Nah go back to the dancing. It was almost as funny as Callum's jerkface dance." Ezran laughed. Iris on the other hand couldn't breathe from all her laughing.

"You guys aren't going to let this go." Gregar stated bluntly.

"Not in a million years." Iris said.

Even Callum and the King who were looking at them from the window found the sight amusing even after the talk they just had.

* * *

Several guards were busy patrolling the forests near the castle. It was a fairly standard procedure given the fact that the forest's secluded nature would make it the best location for surprise attack. However even with the guards patrolling regularly there were always those rare occasions where they would miss something or to be more precise, someone would their detection, like today, where the two guards on duty failed to see a figure stalking them from the treetops. The figure was one among seven who were all dressed in form fitting blue and black armour, moonshadow elf assassins. Some of the deadliest killers in Xadia: especially when the full moon was just a few nights away.

The soldiers meanwhile were your usual military grunts. Very good at fighting: but not the best. Most of them had joined because they couldn't do anything else to provide for their family: some because it was their way of showing patriotism for their nation. These soldiers were essentially expendable, though the king never thought like that, and as such they could easily be killed off.

The soldiers didn't stand chance against the assassins. They were outnumbered, out matched and taken by surprise. It wasn't even necessary for all the elves to get involved. Only one was needed to kill the two. One elf, one sword and even more impressively, one slash, all that was left after was two beheaded soldiers. That elf's name was called Antumbra.

The other elves had looked on all smiling and nodding their approval at the younger elf. The leader, Ruunan was satisfied one of the two young elves he had brought had already proven to show great promise. Turning to the next young elf, a young elven girl named Rayla, Ruunan observed the girl's expression. She had seemed a little shaken after witnessing the assassination, which was understandable despite all her training this was her first mission after all. She was probably the strongest and fastest among them, but she had yet to actually take a life. However after seeing Antumbra execute his targets with such ease, Ruunan was sure there was hope for Rayla yet.

Antumbra returned to his team and the elves continued their trek to the castle. With luck they would reach a head of time and get some rest. They would need all their strength if they were to deal justice to the human scum that slaughtered the dragon king.

* * *

It was sun down and the Princes and Gregar along with some soldiers had already left for the lodge. Suffice to say it didn't take long before they coach carrying the Princes ran into some issues with a wheel breaking. To make matters worse the clouds in the sky had decided to add to their troubles and douse them with water. They had reached a good distance away from the kingdom so it wasn't like they could just turn around and even if they wanted to the King had given specific instructions that they shouldn't return under no circumstances. With nothing else left to do, they traveling band decided to make camp.

"This is just fantastic." Gregar said as he rocked back in the coach. The knight was agitated not because he disliked the rain, but after being on bed rest for so many weeks, he wanted to go out and stretch his legs. Deciding he had enough resting, Gregar decided to do a patrol around the area. He notified one of the guards on look out that he was going on patrol and left the campsite. Gregar was however unaware that a boy in a blue jacket and red scarf was following right behind him.

Callum followed Gregar through the forest. The young prince couldn't sleep with so much going on his mind and when he saw Gregar leave for a walk. Callum decided to join him.

After walking for a few minutes, Callum realized that he had lost sight of Gregar. As he was looking around confused by the warrior's disappearance he noticed something shift in the corner of his. Callum didn't even have enough time to react as he saw a sword emerge from behind him. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact but it never came.

When the young prince opened his eyes, he saw a familiar looking blade and a very angry looking Gregar. "What are you thinking?" Gregar growled trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

"I thought you could use some company." Callum tried to whisper. Gregar didn't even bother responding instead grabbing Callum by his shoulder and staking him back to the campsite. Unbeknownst to the two of them two elves were watching them from the treetops.

* * *

"I'll tell you what Rayla. I'm going to go and kill the knight who is obviously two closer for comfort and you should take the scrawny weakling following him." Antumbra whispered to his companion, "I'm pretty sure he couldn't even fight back even if he saw you." The assassin teased. Rayla looked at her companion with disgust. He always enjoyed killing more than he should. Moonshadow elves were supposed to take life but they don't take it lightly, but before Rayla could even responded Antumbra had already left.

As Gregar and Callum walked through the forest, the knight heard a rustle in the tree branches. 'Must be my imagination.' Gregar thought as glanced at his sword. The moon engraved symbol on the blade had begun to glow ever since they left Katolis and glowed even brighter when they arrived in the forest. It was the first time such a thing had happened to the blade and Gregar couldn't help but feel that the glow on the moon symbol had something to do with the Moonshadow elves. The symbol now glowed incredible bright catching the eyes of both Callum and Gregar.

There was a sudden rustle in the trees followed by a gentle hum and then the sound of metal clashing was heard. Callum looked in shock as Gregar stood ready to battle after just deflecting what looked like a metal projectile, a boomerang with three sides. Gregar sword cast a blinding light illuminating the forest before the light dimmed, the moon symbol now had a steady light blue glow. Callum and Gregar watched as two figures emerged from the treetops, two elf assassins.

The two assassins drew their weapons; the leaner female assassin had two folding swords, while the male had had a single long sword. Gregar stuck his sword into the ground and began twisting the handle vigorously never taking his eyes of the elf. The sword seem to come to live as with each series of revs the blade's humming got louder and it started to glow red, now obscuring the blue glow of the moon rune.

"Callum, run, warn the others while I hold them off." Gregar said before charging to the two elves with the now powered up sword. Callum didn't need to be told twice. He ran as soon as Gregar gave the order. As the knight clashed with the male assassin, the female leapt out of the way. Gregar turned and tried to strike her but she was too fast for him to hit.

Gregar tried to strike her once more but the other assassin intercepted his attack. "Take care of the boy, I'll take care of this one." The assassin told his female counterpart. Gregar tried his best to stop her before she left but he the other assassin blocked his way.

"That's real honourable, sending a trained killer after a defenceless kid." Gregar spat as he lunged at the assassin.

"You humans are one to talk, killing the dragon prince unprovoked before he even hatched." The elf retorted as he parried Gregar's sword strike. The two blades locked against each as the wielders pressed on. The assassin leapt back to Gregar's surprise he split himself in two before the two of them re-engage Gregar. The knight slashed through one of them who instantly turned into a puff a blue smoke. It was an illusion the knight realized. The real one tried to strike Gregar, but the knight had recovered in time and narrowly missed the blade.

"Was that the best you got?" Gregar asked, the assassin responded by making more copies of himself. What was once a one on one fight now looked like a one against many. Gregar tried his best to distinguish between the duplicates but it was to no avail. He couldn't see any visible difference between them. The duplicates all surrounded him readying to strike. As they lunged, Gregar ducked down just in time to avoid being impaled and the assassin stumbled over his crouched form, falling flat in the mud.

Noticing his opponent was about to get up, Gregar jumped on his opponents back and then jumped into a tree. He sliced branches that hang over his opponent. The assassin narrowly avoided falling branch but there sword was not so luckily. The assassin looked up to see Gregar still smirking in the tree. The knight jumped trying to land a downward slash but the elf rolled away. Before Gregar could dislodge his sword from the mud the elf had kicked him away.

The elf tried to pick up Gregar's sword to use a substitute but the moment the elf touched the sword he felt a small electric jolt.

"Dark magic." The elf winced as he recovered only for his face to meet Gregar's boots.

"Don't even get me started, Mr. Moon magic clones." Gregar retorted he grabbed his sword. The elves drew a rune in front of him and split into several more copies of him each with a three sided boomerang from before. The cloned elves ran around the area some disappearing when Gregar struck them down. When the clones stopped they began writing a symbol in a mid-air. Before Gregar even realized what was happening the cloned elves threw the boomerang into the rune which then created even more copies of the boomerang.

Gregar out of instinct tried to deflect as much of them as possible, but they all turned to smoke, the ones deflected and the ones that hit him, before he knew it the real one struck him right in the should. Gregar winced in pain as he noticed the metal sticking out of his shoulder and the blood slowly seeping out. He tried to reach to remove the metal intrusion but his opponent thought otherwise and slammed the boomerang further in with a broken branch. Gregar felt his grip falter dropping his sword to the ground as the pain shocked his entire body.

The assassin appeared from behind him, sword in hand and pulled the boomerang out of Gregar's shoulder. Before Gregar could even recover he felt the assassin's sword being jammed right into his stomach.

"Die human scum." The elf had said as he shoved the sword further before yanking it back out. Gregar fell to his knees grasping his mid-section. Blood was practically flowing out of him and staining the forest floor.

Gregar struggled to keep some semblance of consciousness; the elf noticed this and grabbed him by the arm before moving him against a tree. Gregar managed to turn himself to face his victor, the assassin was now holding Gregar's own blade having powered through the initial shock and before the knight even realized it he was impaled a second time by his own blade. This time Gregar felt his own body losing feeling as the whole world slowly faded to back.

Antumbra had yet to release the grip when he felt a surge of dark magic flood his system through the blade's handle. The force of the magic exploded, sending the assassin flying back into a tree. The assassin recovered slowly, his eyes still trained on his opponent's body.

"No better way to go than with their own weapon." He thought as he tried to get up. When he rested his right hand against the ground to try and push himself up, he felt an intense pain surge through his arm as he fell back down. Antumbra cursed under his breath, not expecting the dark magic within the sword to damage him so much. Looking at the blade lodged in the now limp body, Antumbra felt some form of satisfaction. The dark knight's weapon had damaged him even after death, but the Moonshadow assassin still survived and would go to procure justice for Xadia. Finally recovering enough to stand to elf left the area, not noticing the blade glow a faint dark and purple light, before the surrounding flora began to decay and wither.

* * *

Callum ran as fast as he could. When he heard the blades clash he knew Gregar was going to tell him to run.

'I am so stupid.' He thought as scurried through the forest. He could hear the tree branches shake as one of the elves followed him. There were not enough words to describe the range of emotions running though his body. Fear for not just his life but also his brother, Gregar and the other guards if the elves caught them: sadness that he may never see his father and friends at the palace again: anger over his own stupidity for following Gregar, despite not having a weapon or any means of defending himself.

The Prince had almost made it to the campsite when as fate would have it, he slipped in the mud falling the ground. A pair of feet had made a soft thud right behind him and the young prince heard the sound of the elf's blades unsheathing. This was it, he was going to die. The young Prince turned to meet his executer. The elf held their swords against his neck ready to remove his head from his shoulders. A lightning bolt cracked through the sky briefly illuminating the elf.

Rayla watched the human laying in the mud before her. Why did that lightning had to flash? She could have been fine killing him if she didn't see anything, but no, lightning flashed and the sight of the human in front of her was now etched into her mind. Her blades were so close, just a little more and she would have her first kill, yet they couldn't move any more. The fear in the eyes of the human in front of her, eyes that belonged to a person who never wronged her, eyes that belonged to someone far younger than most she saw get killed. Rayla didn't even realize she was lowering her blades, nor did she realize she was backing away. What she did realize was the human running away.

* * *

**As always, please follow and fav and especially review. Constructive criticism is appreciated.**


	3. What's done is done

**Author's notes: Sorry it took so long, this chapter was a lot mire difficult the write than i thought, because i was tempted to add in a new character to it but decided against it due to it feeling like it would be too much for the intro and wouldn't give the other characters enough time to develop.****Next chapter should come quicker because i have had that one planned for quite sometime especially with how the stories been going so far.****Enjoy!**

Callum ran as fast as he could. By some miracle the elf had not killed him but he was too pumped in adrenaline to ask any questions. He arrived at the campsite, panting for air. Several of the guards who had been on duty rushed to him when they saw the state of panic he was in.

"Prince Callum. What happened?" They asked. Callum recalled the encounter with the elves and how Gregar had stayed behind to fight. The guards listen intently at first but the moment he mentioned elves, they had already gone on the defensive stand.

"My prince, we must leave immediately." One guard said as he grabbed Callum and pulled him to by one of the horses. Another had already gone to fetch Ezran and was now holding the smaller boy in his arms as they mounted their horses. Callum was also forced on to a horse, by two guards.

"But wait what about Gregar?" Callum asked. The guards however seemed to ignore his plea as some of them were still conversing about the situation. One of them took a horse and rode off, presumably back to the Capitol.

Several others mounted their horses and readied themselves alongside the ones Callum and his brother were one.

"My prince, you're safety is our top priority. We can not return the castle now and we most certainly can't stay here any longer." One of the guard told him.

"But what about Gregar?" Callum asked. "We can't just leave him behind." Callum argued.

"You're majesty. It he engaged the assassins alone then he is as good as dead already." The guard said abruptly, annoyed by the Prince's constant whining.

Callum realized he wasn't going to get through to them, so he kept quiet. He really hated the situation, first his dad, now one of his close friends. It just wasn't fair, he wasn't strong enough to help his father, he was just useless in help his friend, the step prince berated himself.

Rayla slowly made her way back to camp, kicking herself mentally. She had one job, and she failed it. What were the others going to say? What would Ruunan say? All those thought and more were passing through the young elf's mind.

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad." She tried to tell herself. It was only a kid, maybe the adults would blame it on an active imagination. However even that excuse didn't hold up as she thought back to Antumbra and the guard before. That didn't look like the usual run of the mil guard they normally saw. As if fate was listening, the elf too busy in her own thoughts didn't see where she was going and tripped.

"What in-" Rayla almost swore until she got a better look at her surroundings. What had once been a lush and thriving forest had now become a slowly decaying jungle. The tree bark was darkening and starting to peel away, the branches were now sagging and the leaves and nearby shrubs had lost their green color as they now looked brown. It was just unsettling.

Looking around Rayla eyes found something she had not hoped to see. The soldier who Antumbra had locked swords with was lying against a tree, his sword impaled through his chest and a pool of his blood gathering on the ground beneath him. The sword itself seemed to give of an unsettling atmosphere as Rayla noticed a rune carving on the sword glow a faint green with dark wisps around. She felt a mix of emotions, she should be happy that the guard was dead, Antumbra was successful in his endeavor unlike her, yet she felt...pity and sorrow especially when she realized the forest now matched the soldier completely.

She was about to leave to rejoin the group when she turned back to the soldier. "If it's any consolation. I didn't do it." She said. She heard a snap and nearly jumped out of skin dropping her blades. Turning around she saw a large black bird, settling on a tree above. The bird looked at her curiously before flying off. Rayla didn't know what to make of it, but decided it was probably a scavenger or something. She went to grab her blades only to realize they had fallen in the soldier's blood. Taking it up she examined it, when an idea formed in her mind. One she didn't like but felt it would be her only hope.

What she failed to notice when she left, however was a smile had actually formed on the soldier's face after she mentioned how she spared the kid and the soldier's nails,now dug into to the ground.

Lord Viren looked at the soldier, his mind trying to find the best possible solution for the problem. He looked back at the soldier who was still exhausted from the journey as was the horse, both had made the trip back to the castle in an astonishingly short space of time. He called to one of the servants and ordered them to call his children.

Within a couple of minutes both Claudia and Soren were rushed into the room via transport of Rumble. The beast dropped them unceremoniously on the ground and then moved out. Apparently they were in the garden, when he summoned them.

His children quickly composed themselves and stood properly in front their father. He repeated what the soldier had told him before to his children, and awaited for their responses. Understandably they were mortified by the fact the Princes were attacked by elves and both were ready to jump into action. No surprise considering that the relationship between his children mirrored his own with the King and late Queen.

Viren gave clear orders to everyone present that the King should not be informed, less he compromised himself in attempt to save his sons. The boys had made it out alive and unharmed from the sound of it and Vjren didn't need the King to put himself in any unnecessary risk to try and save those who didn't need it. Looking at Soren, the Royal Mage ordered his son to organize a search party to hunt the elves. If they were questioned by what they were doing, tell whoever was interrogating them that it was all part of a patrol. He dismissed Soren alongside the guard and his servant, leaving him with only his daughter. Viren tapped his staff against a large painting in his room.

"Walk with me." He told his daughter. Claudia complied joining him on his way to his private chamber

"Claudia, how far have you come with your enchanted weapons spells?" Viren asked. Viren was a patient man but there came a time when even patience was easily overruled by haste.

"Dad I've only been doing this research for a few months. It's going to take a little more time." Claudia said as they entered the Chamber.

Viren's chamber was full of magical artifacts and 'ingredients' for his spells. However there were several items that stood out in Chamber above the rest. One was a giant mirror, engraved with various runes around the frame. It was the object the Dragon King had kept as close to his den as possible, closer than any other treasure present. The dragon had done it for a reason, the mirror had to have had an important purpose and Viren was going to find out what it would do.

Another group if objects were actually Claudia's handy doing. She had studied the runes and partial enchantments on Gregar's sword and was in the middle of replicating it future use of the Katolis army. Elves always had the upper hand with their magical artifacts, but if this project worked then the she could level the playing field against them. She hadn't been able to get her hands in any other swords besides Gregar's so a complete sword enchantment was out of the question especially since the last experiment Gregar did with them ended with ...yeah let's not go there. What the young mage did have access to was Sunfire gloves and boots. Normally this would only be useful with a complete suit, but being the creative person she was, Claudia was able to create two pairs of gloves and boots imbued with her own original dark spells. The red set was more powerful but would be more difficult to use, the blue set was weaker but incredibly easy to wield. However they were still in there testing faxes and required a magical source to be of any use.

Lastly on the list was an object covered with a blanket in the middle of the room. It was an object long thought destroyed, the egg of the dragon prince. This was perhaps the single most powerful thing in this room. Once hatched the dragon could potentially become the most power creature in all existence. It was for this very reason that Viren had sought to take it away from the elves. He had already seen the power of the Dragon King at first hand and not a day goes by that he isn't shown the same nightmare of Katolis burning due to the creature.

"Time is luxury we don't have Claudia." Viren responded. He wasn't wrong, assassins were right outside there doors and in the next few hours they would be attacking the castle. Moon shadow elves were skilled killers even without magic, so you can imagine how devasting group of them could be when the full moon was imbuing them with power.

"I know, but the only people who can properly use them are us." Claudia admitted. "If anyone else without magic were to use them then they'd just be weighted clothes." The young mage confessed.

Viren listened to his daughter, they had exhausted most of their options and were quickly losing control of the situation. He walked by one of the tables, eyeing a jar with a large bright blue moth fluttering inside. Taking up the jar he handed it over to Claudia.

"Give this to Soren." Viren ordered. "I trust this could help him find the elves before nightfall." The older man added. Claudia looked as if she wanted to smack herself. Off course, a moon moth, why hadn't she thought of that. The took the moth into her hands and left to find her brother, leaving Viren in the room alone. He walked over to mirror inspecting it.

"Even in death, you still trouble me,dragon." He cursed. No matter, the dragon king was dead, the egg was here and nothing would stand in the way of humanity when they finally went to Xadia to take back what was rightfully theirs.

Rayla arrived back at her camp, sword in hand and drenched in the blood of the fallen soldier. She had contemplated using berry juice, but decided against it. She walked nervously passed Ruunan , hoping he didn't realize what she had done.

"Rayla." The head elf called.

Oh no. The elven girl froze at the call of the head assassin. She slowly turned to face her leader. "Yes." She replied, with a nervous grin.

"Good job."

"Thanks." Rayla responded awkwardly, "I used both of them." She added.

"I can see that." Ruunan deadpanned, taking a piece of cloth he handed tossed to the elven good. "Wipe it clean, otherwise the blood will ruin the blades." He told her. Rayla caught the cloth and went to clean her swords. While she was in the process of wiping them, she was interrupted by Antumbra.

"Wow first kill." Antumbra inquired. Rayla remained silent, she had already lied to Ruunan and didn't want to talk about it more than she should. Especially from someone like Antumbra.

"How was it?" He asked gleefully. Rayla continued to wipe the blood of her blade. He seemed to catch on that she didn't want to talk, but he still continued to prod and probe.

"Did you savor it?" Antumbra grinned. Rayla bit her tongue. She wanted to tell him to zip it, how she didn't take pleasure in taking like he did, but she couldn't. So the elven girl just kept quiet.

"Or did you let him go like the coward you are." He whispered into her ear. Rayla froze in her spot, processing her words. She first felt fear that she had been caught, but that was quickly replaced by anger when she realized he called her coward.

"What did you just call me?" Rayla asked, giving him an opportunity to retract his statement, but the other elf didn't seem none the wiser.

"You heard me, a coward. Does the truth hurt?" Antumbra jeered. He eyed Rayla, challenging her.

Rayla eyed him up and down. Her first instinct was to stab him with her sword, even if she never killed, she would at least maim him. Maybe that would keep his mouth shut. She noticed his right arm had been badly burnt, probably during his fight earlier. She smirked knowing exactly what to do.

"Are yuh sure yuh not jealous that I got away unscathed." Rayla motioned to his right hand. His smile fell. "Must have stung knowing you're not as strong as yuh thought, if a mere human could injure yuh in a one on one fight."

Antumbra brought his boomerang up to her face, catching her off guard. "You listen good Coward. I still won, I killed him like I was supposed to." He said aggressively. "The only reason I'm injured right now is because of the stupid dark sword. So if you ever think about calling me weak again, then I'll show you just how powerful I really am." Antumbra threatened, his boomerang inches away from Rayla's face and Rayla holding on sword ready to strike at a moments notice. The two elves glared at each other, but not before they could even move an outside force slammed their heads together.

"Are you two done?" Ruunan asked, his voice not even masking his anger. The head assassin eyed both youths, neither were desiring to challenge the him so they just nodded in agreement. "Good, the ceremony is about to start and we need all elves, PRESENT AND COOPERATIVE." He informed, adding more force on the last part. The two elves got up and retrieved their weapons before making their way to join the others.

"This isn't over." Antumbra mouthed to Rayla. Rayla merely shot him a glare in response.

Soren looked at the jar in his hand. He sister had given him it claiming it should help track the elves. Apparently it was attracted to the moon magic they had inside them. Looking at the squad he had assembled he could see they were all prepped and ready to go. The crown guard would never admit this out loud but he was always hopeful that when the princes got older and more skilled, they would join him on the field. However given Callum's current state with a sword, that seemed unlikely to happen this century. Nevertheless there were elves to kill, if they finished them off now while it was still daylight, then their was a good chance the King would live long enough to be a grandfather.

Opening the jar, Soren let the blue moth fly out. He observed the lunar insect flapping it wings, fluttering in place. Finally making up its mind, the moth flee off with Soren and the guards in tow.

The binding ceremony had been completed, now each assassin was bound to the task at hand, and if they could complete it, well let's just say they need some more helping hands. Rayla felt the guilt return from lying to Ruunan. Walking over to the elder assassin, Rayla tried her best to figure out the best way to say it.

"Um Runaan, what if they knew we were coming?" She asked nervously, she hoped her jumpiness could be explained as anxiety for her first mission. Runaan didn't seem to think much of it, because he quickly dismissed the idea claiming they had the element of surprise. The two didn't get a chance to finish talking as a blue moth fluttered between them.

The elves eyes widen at the realization, someone knew of them, the moon moth was native to Xadia and places especially rich in moon magic, it wouldn't exist in a human kingdom. Runaan hurried back to camp gathering the other elves. He was about to break his necklace to cast and illusion over them but Antumbra was already at work, drawing a rune. When the elf finished, he spoke the draconic phrase to activate it, and before Rayla knew it they were covered in a blue mist.

Soren and the other guards rode through the forest on their steads, their weapons ready to be drawn at a moments notice. When they finally found the moth, things were a little disappointing. The blue insect had landed on a tree in clearing, looking as content as can be.

"There's nothing here." Soren voiced his thoughts, staring at the moth he commented how it was just as a useless as a regular moth. "Looks like we'll have to let the elves come to us." He commented, unaware that the trees around them were in fact elves in disguise.

As the soldier left with his troop following behind, they were unaware of the illusion fading behind them. While they were on their way back to Katolis, they decided to investigate the area where the Prince had reportedly seen the elves. Soren was hoping that it wasn't just a figment of Callum's imagination or a tall tale, but he was giving him the benefit of the doubt, after all the chances of some of Callum's skillset to survive and encounter with a moonshadow assassin at night was not exactly in the believable area. When they arrived however, Soren blood run cool.

Rayla could feel the glares coming at her from all the other elves, and the satisfying smirk forming on Antumbra's face. However what really made her feel small was the disappointment and anger in Runaan's eyes. She tried to explain to him that she couldn't do it, how it had just been a child, but he wasn't having any if it.

"You spared him, but now you've killed us all." Runaan yelled. His words hit her hard, she had doomed them. The humans would be waiting for them to come because of her. She had let everyone down, just like her parents did. What was going to happen now?

**Okay so there was one other thing i forgot to mention, I'm wondering if to the short chapters with frequent updates or long chapters that tell are more concise story but take longer to write. The reason being is that the Dragon Prince has a habit of having 3 minor story arcs in each season, taking 3 episodes each. I wanted to keep pace with the seasons but i sincerely doubt i can keep everything at 3, so my story arcs may go to around 4 or 5.**

**What i want to know is what you all think.**


	4. Reasons and Desires

Gregar's eyes opened slowly as he regained consciousness. He rubbed his head slightly trying to recall just what exactly had happened but it all seemed like a blur to him.

"Callum." He yelled as the memories flooded his mind. He had tried holding back a the elves while Callum escaped. Gregar tried to stand up but found himself staggering, a burning sensation pulsed through his chest as he tried to move. Still that would not stop him as he struggled to get up. Looking around he was finally able to see where he was. He was in medical bay of sorts...one that looking very familiar. Katolis. He was back in Katolis's castle. He forced himself up and leaning on a nearby wall he made his way to door.

He wasn't even a few feet out the door when someone grabbed his shoulder. Gregar instinctively turned around to fight only to find himself staring down a familiar gardener. Iris was standing right there with a plate of food in her hand and Rumble was holding what looked the be a bucket of water in his mouth. Gregar was about to ask where Callum was when Iris dropped the soup and pulled him into a hug. Gregar was confused and a little worried about what was happening and he could have sworn he heard Iris crying. Rumble rested the bucket on the ground before moving next to Gregar to kick his leg.

The dark soldier didn't know what to make of it but he just let Iris be. The gardner's composure returned when a voice called out.

"There he is." Soren spoke. Gregar turned around to see Soren approach them. Soren embrace Gregar much as Iris did, though he let go quicker.

"I thought we had lost you back there." The crown guard told him.

"What happened to me?" Gregar asked.

"You mean you don't remember?" Soren asked him.

"I remember telling Callum to run as I fought against some elves but that was it." Gregar told them.

"Anything else?" Iris asked. Gregar merely shook his head. Iris and Soren exchanged a worried look with each other.

"Well it doesn't matter. Callum escaped the elves and was able to warn us. He should be safe at the Banther lodge with General Amaya and Ezran." Soren told him

"That's...great." Gregar told him. "So what do we now." He asked.

Soren sighed. "We're gonna have to wait them out since we couldn't find them in the woods. Full moon is tonight so we need to make sure we're." He told them.

"You can count me in." Gregar answered as he held the wall.

"Um no offense Gregar but you're need to rest. You took ummmmmm...quite beating last time and it's a miracle you're standing here now." Soren told him.

Iris gasped as Gregar grabbed Soren by his chest plate. The wounded soldier stared at the crown guard with his glowing amber eyes. "Listen to me Soren. I have lost way too much to these elves to just sit around. I already lost my father to them a few years ago. I'm not gonna let Callum and Ezran go through that, even if it kills me." Gregar growled inhumanely at Soren. He released the soldier and walked off leaving a very surprised Iris and Soren. Iris looked at Soren's armour noticing the metal was deformed when Gregar grabbed it.

"What just happened?" Iris asked the crown guard.

"I don't know but I'm going to find out." Soren said as he walked off in the opposite direction leaving only Iris and Rumble. Rumble merely grumbled.

"I agree. This wreaks of dark magic." Iris told the armarhino.

* * *

Rayla had never wished to be an Earth stone elf more than now. She could feel the disapproving stares of all the others and she knew she couldn't blame them. She had failed in her mission. Kill the human that was all she had to do but she didn't and now the mission had possibly been compromised. Still what made this even worse was the disappointment she saw on Ruunan's face. She had taken this mission in the hope that she could restore honour to family name but now...what was there left to do. She disgrace her family even more than her parents, and she had probably doomed all her comrades in the process. Her thought were interrupted when she saw her mentor approach.

"Walk with me." Ruunan told her. The elven girl complied quietly.

The duo walked a certain distance into the forest. Ruunan did his best to drill it into her head about what she needed to do. She was supposedly the most physically capable fighter here, save for Runaan himself but she lacked the will to do the job. He finished by telling her that she was prohibited from partaking in the mission. She would have argued that she was ready but he quickly cut her off.

"You are to wait here, till tomorrow morning." He ordered. "And if we are not back you are to leave immediately and go directly to Xadia." The head assassin removed the necklace he was wearing and handed it over to her. "This necklace is a gift from an old friend of mind. It should help keep you safe from humans if need be.

"But Runaan. I bound myself." Rayla said as she pushed the necklace back in his hand.

"And when this over you will be unbound." He told her as he left for camp, leaving Rayla sitting on a rock with the necklace. She tossed it aside as she sat their waiting. A couple minutes passed before she heard footsteps coming back to her.

"Ruunan?" She called.

"Guess again coward." A snide voice called out. Rayla groaned, off course it was Antumbra. He was probably here to run salt in her wounds.

"What do you want Antumbra?" She scowled.

"From you nothing really." He answered. "Just perhaps a good enough reason as to why you jeopardized the mission like that."

Rayla gritted her teeth. "And what makes you think I did that in purpose." She growled at him.

"You had one job. You just had to kill the human boy. That was it. Even if you couldn't do it, you should have at least asked me to do it. It was just another human for crying out loud he would have just been another one for me to kill."

"Is that what this is about me letting an easy kill escape you?" Rayla asked.

"Oh no you don't Rayla. That's not it. Not even by a longshot. This mission was the perfect way for me to avenge my mother after she died at the hands of those humans. I could have done her proud by being the one to end the bloodline of the family who killed the dragon king but you just had to go and make it ten times tougher." He yelled.

Rayla kept silent, thinking her next few words carefully. Antumbra was always someone you had to thread carefully with as he was prone to lash out in fits of anger. He almost didn't join them on their journey but just as Ruunan had taken a chance with bringing her along, he also took a chance on Antumbra. The difference between them being, Antumbra was capable of killing and he was able to do it with a clear conscience, something only the most hardened assassins could achieve. He had been obsessed with killing humans, after a human raid left his father paralyzed and unable to speak.

"So it's not about justice then. It's about revenge." Rayla said quietly. Antumbra turned to her.

"You think there is a difference." He told her. "Justice is nothing more than the revenge of the innocent. That is why we are here. We are here to get revenge for the Queen for the death if her unborn child and mate. We are here to get revenge for Xadia for the elves that died when the trespassed on our lands. Revenge and Justice are the same, just like fire and flame."

"But I you just had to and make it harder now didn't you." He scowled at the elven girl. "So I suppose it's best I take of you right now so you don't go ruining things later." He said as he drew his sword.

"And what makes you think I would do such a thing." Rayla asked as she drew her own weapon.

"You're stubborn, desperate and you still lack the killer instinct. You might have tried to 'help' in some absurd way and wound up getting in our way." He told her. He didn't give her a chance to respond as he lunged at her.

* * *

Gregar felt uneasy without his sword. It was one of the few things he owned that he cherished as it was the last tie he had to his father. He never met the man but his mother described him as being an honourable soldier that was something Gregar always strived to be. Failing to protect the Princes was not only failing Katolis but failing his parents as a whole.

He knew the Princes were alright from what he heard with Soren but it still hung over his head that they were almost hurt or worse. He saw them as brothers or cousins if truth be told and Callum and Ezran did treat him as such. Not just him but all of them, Soren, Iris and Claudia as well. It didn't sit well that he let an elf get the better of him. He was so lost in his thoughts of the Princes that he hadn't even realized he had strayed close to Viren's quarters.

He saw the door open and immediately hid to avoid running into the dark mages. He waited for a while as Viren exited the room along with his daughter. The two were discussing something about a two headed snake? Gregar wasn't sure about the details and to be honest he didn't really care all that much for it.

What did bother him was that after they left Gregar felt like something was calling him from Viren's study. It was strange almost like hearing a child whimper. Viren didn't have anymore children. Unless the whole love hate relationship he had with Opeli was not a joke afterall then something was up. Making sure no one saw him Gregar quietly snuck inside the study. Once inside Gregar listened to the whimpering it was coming from by the painting. The soldier walked over to the portrait and knocked on the picture and much to his surprise it shifted. It was a door. Gregar slowly opened it revealing a secret pathway. Against his better judgement he proceeded down the pathway listening to the faint whimpers coming from the distance.

* * *

Antumbra was pushed back by the elven girl. His arm was still recovering from the dark magic that hurt him from earlier but he was still able to fight. He dodged several of Rayla's strikes while using his moon magic to turn invisible or create an illusionary copy of himself. However he wasn't quite fast enough as Rayla was quick to disarm him and put him within range of decapitation.

"You ready to give up." Rayla asked him.

Antumbra pretended to ponder the idea before he answered 'No'. Rayla was somewhat amused by this had hoped he said no and proceeded to slash at him only for her blade to pass through blue smoke. The elven girl stared wide eyed as she realized she had been duped by the elven boy. However she didn't get enough time to react as something struck her on her head from behind. Before Rayla could even registered what had happened the world around her quickly faded to black.

"Swift, strong and skilled." Antumbra spoke to himself. "But not very smart." The elven boy took some rope he had on his person and began to quickly tie up Rayla's arms and legs and then proceeded to tie her up on the tree to avoid being spotted by any patrolling humans.

"There we go. That should keep you out of way for now." He thought. True he may have been angry at Rayla but he wasn't going to let his rage have him attack another elf, even foolish ones like Rayla. He took her swords and wedged them high in the tree he hid her on.

Gregar reached the end of the pathway coming into what looked like a secret lab of sorts. As he looked around memories started to flash through his mind causing him to stumble against the wall. He saw flashes of himself in the dark rituals and Viren performing them.

He could feel his breathing become more erratic. His heart was starting to beat uncontrollably as the memories continued. Visions of the warped and distorted humans filled his mind as he struggled to keep still. Eventually knocking against a table where some cloth fell off a covered object.

A bright light shone in the lair drawing Gregar's eyes towards it as he felt the pain of the memories fade slightly.

"What in the world?" Gregar gasped in awe as he looked at the light source. The source eventually dimmed allowing him to make out the object. It was an egg but not just any egg. The egg of the Dragon Prince.

* * *

**And there goes chapter 4, sorry i haven't been updating regularly. There really is no excuse for it really.**


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